Seasons are changing...

Where to begin? 

I guess the day it all started.

The Friday before Jeremy's spring break he had a meeting with his administrators to find out how he had done this year and about his contract for next year. They told him that he had passed his evaluations throughout the year and met all of his requirements. They told him that he could work on his classroom management, but who doesn't have to work on that? Especially when it's your first year teaching and you're teaching 2 subjects. But, after all of those positive things, they told him that they were not going to be renewing his contract for the Fall. Their reason being was that he "did not fit the chemistry of the 8th grade team." UGH. Don't even get me started on that so called reason. 

So where do we go from here?
It took us both a little while to get over the initial blow and we didn't tell anyone other than our parents. His principal gave him an option of writing a resignation letter so that it would look better on his "record" than not getting a contract, so he did that. Then he emailed a guy from the district that he dealt with while being hired and asked to have a meeting with him. The guy told Jeremy that he really couldn't do anything and that he didn't specifically know of any open positions in the district, but that he could get put on the transfer list and get emails every week that list the open positions within the district. So he talked to his principal about getting put on the list and she told him that he couldn't get on the list since he wasn't getting a new contract. SO, Jeremy emailed that guy again asking what the deal was and the next day he got an email from his principal saying that he COULD get on the list with the form attached. This is her first year being a principal, so i'm not sure if she was being mean or if she really didn't know. I have mixed feelings towards her and the school right now lol The more we hear about things the happier we are that he is getting out of there. 

So, he is on the transfer list. So far there are a few possibilities for him to pursue. He has sent out his resume to every principal in our district and the district right next to us. He has also updated his application for the whole state of South Carolina and also submitted his application to the Charleston District. 

Then we got another surprise. He got a call one day from a principal from a district 3 hours away from us. We were kinda confused how he got Jeremy's name but once they got a hold of each other we found out that he had talked to this guy last year after Jeremy had accepted this position. So, apparently this guy has kept Jeremy's name this whole time and is still interested. So, Jeremy emailed him his resume and we are waiting for a Skype interview to get set up. 

Now a lot of you are probably wondering why we aren't jumping on this opportunity to move back to NY, but we just aren't ready for that. We don't really want to move 3 hours away either. Obviously, if it's the only card we are dealt we will take that as a sign from God and do it, but it's not OUR will. We absolutely love where we are, we love our church and our church family. We have really begun making good friends and I absolutely LOVE my job. (A little addition to the praises that I posted about when I told you all about my new job...on my first day of work, the girl whose place I was taking in the infant room came back for her job. So, if I wasn't there for my first day, the job wouldn't have even been there anymore!) So of course in my mind and how I think things should go, why would God allow me to get this job and have it totally be the working of His hands, if we were just going to have to leave in 3 months? Also, if I was who I was a year ago, I WOULD be jumping on this opportunity to move back to NY, or at least closer to our families. So, I am holding on to the fact that my heart has changed and with how me getting my job unfolded as a hope that this is where we are still meant to be. Obviously, we are willing to go wherever the Lord leads us and I will follow my husband wherever that may be, but our hearts are definitely here.

There were a few other things that this news impacted. 

When we got married and Jeremy got this job, we were accepted into this loan forgiveness program for teachers that took our loan payments from like $600/month to $60/month, which has obviously been a HUGE blessing. But if Jeremy isn't teaching, we don't get it anymore. (We aren't sure how it would be affected if he was to sub....)

Also, a praise....our lease is up this month in our apartment. Our only options were a 6, 9 or 12 month lease, 12 being the cheapest. But, since we don't really know what's going to happen, if we were to leave in August and break the lease, we would have to pay an extra month fee. We also could have rented month-to-month but it would have been over $100 more each month. So, we went and talked to the office about our predicament and they are going to let us a do a 3 month lease for the cheapest price as if we were renting for 12 months! Praise the Lord! 

SO! (how many times have I said that in this post? LOL) Prayers would definitely be appreciated in the upcoming couple of months for opportunities to come our way and for peace and guidance about decisions.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:11-13
 

Catch-up!

I know that I have been a terrible blogger lately and I know that I keep giving the same excuse that it took me some time to get used to working again and now it seems like I have no time for anything but catching up on housework. But, I have another excuse, too LOL Our computer is slowly falling apart and in that process it has decided to not let me do certain things, like blog and pinterest. It's terrible, I know. Out of everything it could have picked from, it picked those two things! So, I have to use Jeremy's work computer to at least upload the pictures onto blogger at nighttime and sometimes there are just better things to do than spend time on the computer when you've been away from your husband all day! : ) 

So, catch-up time! 2 weeks ago was Jeremy's birthday. I have decided in recent days that besides Christmas, Mother's day and Father's day are my favorite holidays, but as far as birthdays go, I love Jeremy's birthday LOL I love spoiling him, which he usually doesn't let me do, but on his birthday - he really has no choice : )

Skyping with my parents while he opens their present...

While they were up for a visit, we went to this little shop in town and he found this wallet that he loved. He told me he didn't want to spend the money on it so after he walked away I grabbed mom and said "Do you wanna get Jeremy something that he wants for his birthday" LOL He was pretty surprised to see it again!

So, he got a few birthday surprises besides getting his usual presents. If you look 3 pictures up, you will see him finding out about the surprise below. He has been wanting to get a tattoo for the longest time and had just recently really figured out what he wanted. At first it was a cross, but then he came across a verse that he loved and I could just tell his decision was made. So, since I knew he would take forever to get it done and to spend the money on himself, I printed off what he wanted and went and made an appointment for him to get it done! I gave him a card that said "The contents of this card are awesome" that had the money and a sticky note with the details on it. I was going to just take him there when it was time for his appointment, but I figured he might need a night to get prepared LOL He did so well though and the artist did an amazing job!

Stay tuned for an update on our lives after the weekend : ) TGIF!!!!!